124 – Sunlight of Spring
Tap…
The sound of burning firewood coming from the lady’s room.
The lady, who woke up from a nightmare, leaned on my broad shoulders and opened her drowsy eyes wider than the Pacific Ocean.
As the confrontation between the lady, who was trying to undress until late at night, and the possessed person full of Confucianism continued and eventually night fell, the tired lady proposed a ceasefire to me, holding up a white flag.
“I won’t look! It’s dirty and disgusting…!”
“The only butler being sexually harassed by the lady he serves would be me.”
“What are you saying! You even know the color of my panties.”
“Well, isn’t it because I prepared them for you? By the way, today’s color is a light blue teddy bear…”
“Yiik! Shut up!”
As always, the lady liked to play pranks that exceeded my expectations.
As soon as she woke up from the dream, she said she wanted to see her butler naked. It’s a healthy form of sexual harassment.
Moreover, because I secretly stole the lady’s snacks every night recently, my abs had become less defined. No matter what, when the time was right, it was the butler’s duty to show off his well-defined abs.
If you had asked me to show you a month ago, I would have pretended to be embarrassed and flaunted my abs sneakily. But because of the beating I received at Deathmont, my abs have become blurry, making it quite difficult for me to show them to the lady.
The lady, who doesn’t understand the butler’s desire to always show a splendid appearance, opened her bright eyes and looked at me.
“I hate you.”
“It’s unavoidable.”
“Still, I hate you.”
“I can show you my arms, though.”
The lady with a sharp tongue rolled her eyes and looked at my sturdy wrists.
“You’ll show me?”
“It’s just one arm, why are you speaking so strangely?”
“That’s because Ricardo is a pervert.”
“…That’s true.”
I couldn’t deny it.
The lady rolled up her sleeves and stared blankly at the veins popping on my forearm. She looked at my pulsating muscles, feeling relieved and smiling.
She poked it with her finger.
“Hmm.”
She bit my arm.
“Lady.”
“Hmm?”
The lady, chewing on my arm, rolled her eyes and looked at me. My forearm covered in saliva, screaming in pain.
She seemed envious, but her eyebrows furrowed.
“It’s not for eating.”
“I see.”
“But why are you measuring me?”
“To check if you’re healthy.”
The lady, who met my ambiguous gaze, wiped the drool off her mouth and looked perplexed.
I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t wipe the drool off my arm, but I thought she must be the worst villain in the world, as clean as she was.
“You pass.”
“Is that good?”
“Yes.”
Well, at least I passed, so that’s a relief.
The lady, leaning against my shoulder, looked at the blazing bonfire again.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes?”
The lady who gave me the passing score seemed melancholic. I thought maybe she was disappointed to pass without any excitement, but it didn’t seem like that was the case.
Perhaps she still couldn’t escape from her nightmares, as she kept looking at my body and fluttering her eyelashes while holding my hand.
“You know.”
“I’m listening, but could you please let go of my hand first?”
“Why?”
“Because it’s such an honor for the most beautiful woman in the world to hold my hand that I can’t control my heart. I’m afraid I might have a heart attack and collapse.”
“Heh… What are you saying?”
The young lady smiled and held my hand even tighter in response to the pleasant compliment.
“No… sigh…”
It was a sincere remark, but it seemed like she took it as a joke. She might even faint from the danger to her heart. Unnecessarily demanding, she buried her face in my shoulder and swallowed her pleasant smile.
Looking at the faintly flickering bonfire, the young lady asked me in a low voice.
“There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while. Can I ask?”
“If you ask, it hurts.”
-Tsk…
Upon hearing the dry joke, the young lady opened her fierce eyes. It was a joke I had studied from books. Feeling a strange sense of frustration from the cool reaction on the young lady’s face, I let out a hollow laugh.
“I was just kidding.”
“It’s not funny. Forbidden.”
“I’ll try to restrain myself.”
“Don’t restrain yourself, just don’t do it.”
“Hmm…”
The young lady was firm.
As a moment of silence passed, I wondered what question the young lady would ask. Even though I didn’t know what she would ask, since she set the mood and spoke, it seemed like she was going to talk about something quite serious.
I pretended to ponder for a moment and nodded my head.
“I will answer according to your question.”
“It’s expensive.”
“The lady I serve is even more expensive, so I have no choice but to set a high price. I hope you understand.”
“…I see.”
The young lady, who enjoyed such mischief, lowered her head shyly with a small smile.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
“It’s Ricardo.”
Taking a deep breath, the young lady asked with a trembling voice.
“Why are you by my side?”
“That’s quite a sharp question.”
“I made up my mind to ask today.”
“Could you be a little less sharp?”
“I had a nightmare today, and I don’t think I can handle it.”
“That’s… a bad nightmare.”
The young lady lowered her head and waited for an answer. The fingers dancing in the tightly held hand twisted as if they were afraid to hear the answer.
I could feel from the young lady’s trembling touch that she was worried that I might be by her side at the request of her guardian or that I might be staying by her side because I needed to collect my overdue wages.
The young lady whispered to me once again, explaining why she was asking such a question. She was making herself out to be a bad person, asking if there was a reason for her to be close to herself, her distant self.
“Why are you by my side when I don’t listen and have no money?”
“Hmm…”
“Now I can’t even walk, and my personality is dirty, just like Ricardo said, so why…”
The young lady’s voice came out softly like a cat that had entered a mouse hole. It sounded both choked up and as if she was holding on, not letting go. It felt poignant.
“Why are you by my side? Ricardo knows too… I have nothing left to offer.”
“I can’t even buy you stylish clothes like before, and I can’t indulge in luxury. It’s embarrassing to be known as the mistress of Deathmont in front of others, so why are you still here?”
I was quite surprised to listen to the young lady’s complaints without responding.
She had a remarkable ability to objectify herself as a villain.
I was taken aback to learn that the young lady, who always lived for her own pleasure, had such concerns, and at the same time, I felt sorry for making her utter such words.
I regretted whether if I had worked harder, the young lady wouldn’t have had to say such things.
A small silence ensued between the young lady and me, who were waiting for a response, accompanied by the crackling sound of the firewood.
The silence that arose from the young lady’s fear of hearing what I had to say and my contemplation of what to say made sweat form in our clasped hands.
Was it a silence where a piece of firewood was being consumed? With difficulty, I opened my mouth.
“That’s right.”
As foolish as it may sound, my response always began with “That’s right.”
Because I couldn’t understand the reason either.
If I had desired success as the young lady said, I would have abandoned her long ago and found a different path. Then I could have made a name for myself as a prodigy surpassing Uriah and Mikhail.
And yet, I cherished the existence of the young lady more than success.
Honor.
Wealth.
Success.
I found more joy in the time spent with the young lady than in such things. I cautiously uttered the answer the young lady had been waiting for in a calm voice.
“Being by the side of the always shining young lady, it seems my standards have become higher.”
“…”
“Are there not many jewels displayed in the showcase?”
“Jewels…?”
“Yes, jewels. If you see a jewel that you like among many jewels, the other jewels won’t catch your eye…. That’s how it is for me with you, Miss.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I prefer the existence of a lady rather than success.”
“…”
“It would be troublesome if you fell for me. I am a person with many desires.”
“You’re shameless.”
“What can I do? I’m a conceited guy.”
I smiled, playing an unexpected prank.
“Anyway, I enjoy being with you, Miss.”
It’s embarrassing and cringe-worthy to say it out loud, but the cozy atmosphere created by the campfire made me utter hot words.
“Our long-standing bond has made the luster of the jewel shine.”
“The solid fist bump we exchanged on our first meeting seemed to have carved a rough stone into a polished gem.”
“And…”
I pinched the lady’s cheek and looked at the blazing campfire.
“How can I help it if the lady herself is so beautiful? Isn’t it natural to feel good just by looking at a jewel?”
“Ugh… Let go.”
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“No, I won’t. Let’s show off the shine of the jewel after a long time.”
“Ughhh! Let go!”
“Hahaha!”
I looked at the lady with a small smile.
“I like things like this. It’s fun to see a lady who lives with a taste of luxury.”
My old story is a boring story.
From the first meeting with the lady to the present, I think it’s a boring and mundane story.
So, I’m going to put the past story aside for a moment.
Sometimes, I think a lot about why I take care of the lady who complains and gets annoyed next to me.
But.
To me, the existence of the lady was like a shining jewel. Even though her personality was a pain, the memories of sitting next to a beggar in the slums, laughing together, were the most hilarious and shining.
That’s why I think I’m more attached to her.
Suddenly, I remembered the old days.
The memory of the lady sitting at the desk, dozing off because of etiquette education.
A day when the warm sunshine shone on the lady. I unconsciously burst into laughter.
– Ah, I’m going crazy.
It felt like a spring day.
Absolutely smitten, this guy 👍
Cute ❤